Balandra - Cocina de puerto — Restaurant in Mexico City

Not sure how this location got such good reviews. Food is mid at best for the price point you're paying for. Food is definitely pretty however. Great service though. Our server was very kind and tried his best to communicate with us in English.

We wanted to try shrimp items but they were out of it when we visited for dinner around 7p.

Things I ordered: Octopus Tacos - three versions - sope de pulpo con chicarrón (soft) - best one, wet saucy taco where the octopus was tender with raspberry - good flavors but octopus was too dry and with chimichurri & chicarrón (crispy) - great flavors and octopus too dry again

The tortillas on these tacos were average. It's a shame how small the octopus was cut, they were about 1.5cm in size. Mixed with the rest of the toppings, not very apparent.

Baja style fish tacos - Very mid- it did not have a acidic component to balance the fish which is what I expect from a Baja style fish taco- whether it was a lime, pico, or pickled vegetables

Scallop aguachile - probably the worst dish The chef's palate leans very strong into salt (maybe a smoker).

The initial taste of this had enough sodium to send my veins pulsing in blood pressure. (I do not have hypertension).

I sent it back to modify with more cucumbers added- it helped but was still pretty salty-- think McDonald's fries...

We came here because the other restaurants we wanted to go to were too long of a wait.

This place looked good on Google. My fiancé liked their seafood choices. There wasn’t a lot of people here when we arrived and it made me sad so I was glad we were eating here. The person who helped us was so warm and kind. And his service was IMPECCABLE. He was so professional and his energy was so calming.

We sat outside and it was really nice! I kinda liked that there weren’t too many people here so we could hear ourselves talk.

The food here is WOW. I unfortunately did not order any grasshoppers but they have plenty if you want to try. My food safely did not contain any grasshoppers. The salsas are spicy. I ordered a Baja fish taco and seafood risotto. The fish tacos are delicious and special. They have this wine sauce they use and it’s the perfect amount. I loved it! The seafood risotto also did. It disappoint. The rice was cooked perfectly firm to chew ratio. And the seafood was blackened to perfection where the shrimp, clams, and octopus MELTED in your mouth and they also came with a rectangular cube of fish meat.

I am so happy we came out to try this place. I hope you do too! It won’t disappoint!!...

During our visit to Mexico City, we found this little gem which was located just around the corner from where we are staying in Roma Norte. It’s always busy during lunch time, so today we decided to give it a try. It ended up to be a brilliant choice that we made, and we couldn’t have been happier with our choice. They specialize in seafood dishes. We had seafood risotto and seafood soup, which they offer with bread, which is made in house. Both dishes were so delicious that we asked for the menu again to discuss what we are going to try next time. Service was also great and not obnoxious. The server was always there whenever we needed something. We are definitely going back again before we leave. It’s such a find! If it was in our home town, I am not sure if I would write about it because it’s so good that I would want to keep it a secret so I can always go and find a table. But being a visitor and next time we return to Mexico City, we would like to see them do well, and that is why I would like to share this place with...